1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to ocular iontophoretic apparatuses, and more particularly, to a handle for an ocular iontophoretic apparatus to facilitate the grasping, positioning and placement thereof.
2. Background Art
The use of ocular iontophoretic devices has been known in the art. Such devices have been used in an attempt to administer a drug through an electromotive force which drives ionic chemicals through the eye tissue so that they can be absorbed by adjacent tissues and blood vessels.
Among other problems, difficulties can be incurred with the placement of these devices onto the surface of the eye of a patient. Specifically, in as much as certain of these devices are intended for use on only a portion of the eye, they are rather small in size. Accordingly, it is difficult for a doctor to carefully position the device in the proper orientation. Moreover, once placed on the patient""s eye, it is often difficult to reposition or to adjust the positioning of the device.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide for a handle member which facilitates the grasping, positioning and placement of ocular iontophoretic apparatuses.
It is likewise an object of the invention to facilitate the repositioning of an ocular iontophoretic apparatus after placement onto the surface of the eye.
It is a further object of the invention to provide for a handle member which can be pinched so as to flex the iontophoretic apparatus during placement onto an eye and during removal from the eye of the patient.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in light of the specification and claims appended hereto.
The application comprises an iontophoretic apparatus which includes a housing member, a current distribution member, a medicament containment member and a handle member. The current distribution member is associated with the housing member. The medicament containment member is associated with the current distribution member. The handle member is associated with the housing member, and the handle member serves to facilitate the positioning and/or placement of the iontophoretic apparatus.
In a preferred embodiment, the handle member comprises a first handle region and a second handle region extending outwardly from the handle member. Each of the first and second handle regions are preferably co-molded with the housing member and distally spaced apart a predetermined distance. In one such embodiment, the first and second handle regions extend away from each other. In another embodiment, the handle member may be releasably associated with the housing member.
In another preferred embodiment, at least one of the first and second handle regions includes a gripping region. The gripping region facilitates the overall gripping of the handle region by a user during the positioning and/or placement of the apparatus. In another such embodiment, the first and second handle regions include a grasping region which joins the handle regions together to, in turn, render a single unitary handle region.
In another preferred embodiment, the first and second handle regions include means for flexing the housing member. In one such embodiment, the first and second handle regions further include means for limiting the flexing of the housing member. In one embodiment, the flexing limiting means may comprise the positioning of a portion of the first and second handle regions in a spaced apart orientation. The spaced apart orientation substantially corresponds to the desired maximum flex of the housing member.
In another such embodiment, the flexing limiting means further includes means for aligning the first and second handle regions. The aligning means precludes inadvertent misalignment of the first and second handle regions during flexing.
In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus further includes means for maintaining the registered placement of the apparatus in the desired orientation. In one such embodiment, the registered placement maintaining means may comprise a receiving region associated with one or both of the handle member and the housing member. In one such embodiment, the receiving region comprises at least one notch. Preferably, the apparatus may further include means for biasing at least a portion of the receiving region against the soft tissue of a user.